inspiration Archives - Christina Irene

Try a Smile Day

16 Apr

I know, I know. It’s tacky and cheesy. Most of us, if not all of us have heard that if you just force yourself to smile, you automatically feel better. I guess maybe it works a little bit. But a...
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4 Ways I Do It Anyway (When Pain and Fatigue Conspire Against Me)

20 Mar

Oh, springtime …. I’m seeing green of my lilies starting to reach out of the ground. Daily I marvel at the new growth on the rosebush I planted last year. And the weather is … all over the place. So...
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Invisible Disabilities and LEGO

11 Jan

I love LEGO®, and LEGO helps me love myself. Here’s how it happened. LEGO bricks were my favorite childhood toy. When I was in middle school, they existed in secret. It was the early 90s, and I was getting teenager...
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When an Apostrophe Made Me Cry, and How I Made It OK

14 Aug

This afternoon, an apostrophe made me cry. OK, context. My fibromyalgia is in full flare today. Extreme fatigue, brain fog, body aches, plus the mental health symptoms: anxiety and depression. I have a ton of work to get done in...
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Stages of Relief After a Traumatic Period

1 Aug

I had this idea months ago and wanted to take the time I needed to process everything before I wrote this. Honestly, I still don’t feel fully prepared to do this “correctly,” but I don’t know that I ever will,...
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On Lambeau Field, Celebrity, Possible Impossible and Heroes Defined

18 Jul

Christina Irene wearing Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodger's jersey in Lambeau Field

Two weeks ago, I was in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of my favorite American football team, the Green Bay Packers, and my soul scored a big win on Lambeau Field. I’m not a die-hard fan, but I’m a fan. I...
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Combating the Myth of Endings

9 Apr

One of my struggles has always been the evening appointment. I remember when I was a waitress and worked evenings, it was hard for me to be productive and enjoy the day because I had this thing to do later,...
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The Good of the Awful Year

12 Mar

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of one of the worst days of my life. I know too many others can say the same thing. My own Friday the 13th of March 2020 went like this. I went to work as...
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I Just Made a “Reset Box”: What’s Inside

28 Jan

It was quite a journey of thought, which I won’t bore (or frighten) you with, but I’ll tell you where I landed. I decided to make a piggy bank of sorts, filled with ways to reset a moment when I...
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11 Things I Do at Bedtime That Make Life a Little Better

22 Jan

I love preparing ahead for myself. Doing those little (or big) things that might make a future moment better. (It’s why I keep up my Splatquake kit.) So doing little things for my tomorrows has become part of my bedtime...
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